Annual Furnace Maintenance, Before the Cold Arrives

A furnace that idles along fine in October on fifteen-minute cycles can be hiding a flame sensor building up oxide, a blower wheel collecting dust that's quietly reducing airflow, or a filter well past due. None of that shows up as a problem yet, because the furnace isn't being asked for much. The same weak points get found out the first week it has to run nearly continuously.

A tune-up checks the parts that wear predictably — flame sensor, igniter, blower, filter, and the safety controls that are supposed to catch a problem before it becomes dangerous — while there's still time to deal with it on a mild day instead of a five-degree morning. It doesn't prevent every failure, but it moves the odds, and it catches the maintenance-grade problems before they become no-heat calls.

What this usually involves

• Flame sensor and igniter inspection
• Blower and filter check
• Safety control and limit switch testing
• Combustion and venting check
• Best scheduled in early fall, before the first cold snap

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